[USER]

How do folks come out of the thinking I am broke when you know you are not.

How come making a good amount of money isn’t giving that mental piece and ability to spend as one wishes.

The desire to save and save more is making me crazy thinking everyone around me is rich and I am super broke.

[Eli]

Invest into yourself so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor!

[Brian]

If one is in pursuit of wealth and defines that monetarily then this becomes a very tricky and likely never ending quest which leads to the negative emotions.

However, find your realistic “enough” which brings in other elements (more time, less stress, improved health, experiences, etc) and then just focus on having “enough” for you and your family.

There will always be those that have more than enough money for you but never enough for them.

I guess the search is for balance and harmony…money certainly helps but it should not be the primary goal

[Jason]

In one of Brad Barret’s recent newsletters he linked to a list of the top finance articles of 2024. My favorite was related to this, but I don’t recall where it was to be able to link to it…

They basically said to set your spending to the average of your income and 4% of your investments.

That way you’re still saving plenty, but it gives you a reasonable amount of room for SOME lifestyle creep.

So, if you’re making 100k and have 100k in investments, you’d spend around $52k/year.

But whether you use that or set some other savings goal, the point would be to pick a number that allows you to reach your goals while still letting you live your life without being miserable.

As long as you’re sticking to YOUR plan, ignore what everyone else is doing.

Alternatively, ask people how they’re doing it… You’ll find that 99% of them are racking up amounts of debt that would give everyone a panic attack.

Suddenly you won’t feel so poor after all.

[Trevis]

That’s all in your mind. When I visit my friends whose houses cost 10x what I paid for mine, it doesn’t phase me one bit.

While they’re working into their late 60’s paying huge insurance and tax bills I’ll be sitting on a beach in Thailand.

Life is about choices. Awareness of what is possible is a gift. Acting on it is a superpower.

[Bryan]

Don’t worry about other people… Most times they will be in debt and breaking even. I like the challenge and the game of trying to save money and watching it grow.

I’m 48 and just bought the cheapest car I’ve ever owned.

A 2010 Nissan Rogue with 133k miles on it, bought it for $3,300 over a year ago, have not had any problems.

I expect to drive it for the next 10 years and take it to 200k miles or over like I have with most of my previous cars.

If I wanted to I could pay cash for just about any car, but I choose to be thrifty for long term savings and wealth. Don’t overextend yourself.

It takes a little while to snowball, but when it happens… It’s awesome.

Even when the market went down in 200 and 2022 my balances never went down because I was contributing more to my accounts while they were going down.

Best of luck in whatever you do, but set your own goals and targets and don’t worry about what other people “appear” to have.

[Tom]

You ignore them, knowing that you’ll be way ahead of everybody else in 10 years.

Besides (and this may seem harsh but it’s reality), they aren’t thinking about you – so don’t think about them.

[Beverly]

You probably are broke. A healthy income does not guarantee wealth. You don’t have the mental peace to spend as you say, cause your common sense is warning you that you are not there yet.

If you actually do have money, spend or not, what would it matter?

[Stacy]

This is what I see a lot here.
Being “frugal” is the virtue, forgetting that frugality was one of the skills and tools that was useful during the accumulation phase.

There is a large difference between spending foolishly and spending frugally.

Once reaching financial abundance, freedom, whatever you wish to call it for yourself, you can shift your mindset, but maintain your ability to spend intentionally

[Jay]

Stop comparing yourself to others. Instead compare yourself today to where you were 10 or 15 years ago.

[Leslie]

I like hearing what others are able to accomplish and celebrate when they hit goals…it’s different for each person. I figure my day is coming too and so will yours! Your journey is your own…comparing is the thief of joy.

You are going to be different due to age, income, when the lightbulb turned on for you regarding freedom through saving and investing.

Don’t be hard on yourself…celebrate every victory and you get to decide what each victory is.

[Hillary]

Check out Ramit Sethi—he talks about money psychology a lot on his podcast and in his book. He often says that people’s feelings on money are highly uncorrelated with how much money they have in the bank.

It’s often more about your experience with money while growing up.

Also, I think sometimes the people who seem “rich” because they have a lot of expensive things or take expensive trips and flash them on social media may still be broke BECAUSE they are not saving or preparing for the future.

Of course, not all, but probably many.

[John]

Don’t compare yourself to others. Comparison is the theft of joy. As long as your on track with your plan, then you’re good.

Someone is always going to have more money than you, a nicer house, nicer cars, hotter spouse, more athletic kids, etc.

Are others really “richer” than you? Or are they financing and living paycheck to paycheck?

I know plenty of people who live large. You have a pretty good idea of their income, so you also know they’re making lots of payments.

Is that rich, wealthy, or neither?

[Russell]

Stop comparing yourself to everyone around you.
I know people who live far more extravagantly than I do. I also know I’ll retire decades before they do.

Which one do you want to be? Life is short, stuff doesn’t matter, only time matters.

They bought stuff; I bought time.

[Pookie]

Read “The Psychology of Money”. It could help you understand why you feel this way.

You must understand where this feeling stems from to know how to change for the better.

[Ian]

Poor is a mentality. It’s a mentality of not having enough. There are plenty of people with millions of dollars in the bank who are poor.

[Shirene]

Think about the AC, heater, the internet. We all live like kings and queens!!! We can watch a lot of shows in our own living room.

We can eat a lot of good food that can be preheated, fast and convenient.

Get yourself some extra small comforts that make you happy.

Mine is a small space heater next to me at my bed and at the toilet. We are all doing pretty swell.

[Kerry]

We were always proud of that fact! We used to joke and call it self-imposed poverty. And because it was a conscious choice it _never_ bothered us that people spent more than we did.

We knew what we wanted, and now that we’re FIRE’d, we are very comfortable, spend whenever we want, and relax with our morning coffees while we watch all the people rushing off to work…

[Stanton]

Feeling ‘broke’ despite having money is often a mindset issue, not a financial one. FIRE teaches us to optimize, but it can also create a scarcity loop.

Set intentional ‘guilt-free’ spending categories, remind yourself of your progress and stop comparing, everyone’s playing a different game.

True wealth is freedom not just a bigger number.

[Lauren]

Scarcity mindset.
I have it too because it was part of my upbringing. My mom hid money because it made it her feel safe.

I was the only one who knew about her secret bank accounts.

My mom and dad are both money (resource) hoarders.
And this apple did not fall far from the tree.

I have had everything I’ve ever needed twice in life. So, there isn’t much to spend on besides trips in between working.

However, I have my second baby on the way and I’ve definitely been spending on higher end things this time around.

But then again, I literally had $5,000 to my name when I had my first baby 15 years ago.

Now there are a lot more zeros on the net worth, so I feel blessed to be able to do things different this time around.

[Durell]

Do the math.
I was going crazy thinking about retiring until I actually sat and determined with my savings and investment projections I am estimated to have a $15,000 monthly retirement income at 50 years old.

That helped calm my mind

[Ellen]

Saving/accumulating money is a different mindset and skill set from spending mindfully.

I use YNAB to give me permission to spend money mindfully but guilt free. Consider watching some of their new “spendfulness” videos.

You do need to “give every dollar a job,” but “future needs” isn’t the only job that needs to be attended to.

[Debbie]

I have a feeling your past experiences such as your childhood is coming into play.

Financial insecurity has a way of rewiring our brain leading to stuck thoughts, self talk and impacting our decisions and actions.

[Amanda]

Maybe see a retirement planner. Once mine told me “You need to start spending your money” was when I finally listened.

Not well but I’m definitely doing better

[Author]

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